Crossing the Divide

An in-depth interview with Grand Junction resident Kurtis Minder, who grew from a precocious teen working for an internet startup in the '90s to the world’s most renowned ransomware negotiator who travels the globe spreading the gospel of internet security.

Before his current stint as a world-renowned ransomware negotiator, Grand Junction resident Kurtis Minder got his internet-world start as an unassuming teen playing an integral role in piecing together an e-commerce system that allowed (at the time) "The Artist Formerly Known as Prince" to circumvent record labels through online sales long before the online payment platforms of today came into exi...

The Tower Inferno examines the increasingly fast pace of modern society and its effects on the world of journalism with Rhema Zlaten, Assistant Professor of Mass Communications at Colorado Mesa University.  Zlaten's research focuses specifically on philosophy and media ethics in light of the shift to digital news dissemination.  Together we touch upon many factors pressuring newsrooms, including h...

This episode of The Daily Direct, We Gather Together, looks at the difficult task of managing wild mustangs on public lands and protecting the rangeland that sustains an array of animals both wild and domesticated, a task that involves the practice of wild horse gathers, viewed by some animal rights activists as a controversial and unnecessary process.  

An interview with former National Parks and BLM Ranger Wayne Hare about his adventures in the wilds of the American West.  He expresses pride at serving on many search and rescue teams and reminisces about the difficulty of bringing home the body of one of their own.  The New England native also reflects on why he calls the Colorado Plateau his home and happy place.  Hare is also the founder of Th...

In this episode of The Daily Direct, in the midst of a heated midterm election season, Daily Sentinel Audience Engagement Director Gretchen Reist sits down with Tim Sarmo and Dennis Kirtland, founding members of Restore the Balance, a local non-profit made up of voters from across the political spectrum working together to combat the rising tide of political extremism by encouraging voters to set...

In our continuing series on journalistic challenges in a digital environment saturated with disinformation, we profile The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel's Dan West, the paper's newly-minted editorial page editor.  In addition to exploring Dan's past history in the industry, we examine the important role of the paper's dedicated Opinion section in a media climate where the line between reporting fa...

An interview with Citizens for Clean Air members Karen Sjoberg and Jerry Nelson about their organization's ongoing study into the potential use of biochar as an alternative to agricultural burning.

A conversation with 37-year Grand Junction Daily Sentinel photojournalist Christopher Tomlinson on the eve of his retirement from full time working life.

Part 2 of my conversation with Wayne Hare, founder of The Civil Conversations Project.  Where Part 1 focused on Wayne's personal history and racial awakening, Part 2 focuses on some of the more over-arching themes and consequences of racial division, such as the physical and emotional toll it takes on the human body and how to reconcile the history of a country not always as noble in deed as in wo...

Part 1 of a conversation of being black in America with Wayne Hare, founder of the Civil Conversations Project.  Wayne's story is living proof that no group of people - black, white or otherwise - is monolithic and that eradicating racial inequality involves a process of recognizing the almost undetectable socialization that prolongs it.  

Travel the culinary world from the comfort of home with one of The Daily Sentinel's newest additions, Christine Gallagher, columnist of All Things Food.  In addition to reflecting on the bounty offered by Grand Valley growers, vintners and brewers, Christine shares her personal relationship to food and its ability to nourish the body and soul; gives guidance on how to manage the daily burden of th...

The 3rd installment in this podcast collaboration between the Crossing the Divide media project and The Daily Sentinel, which provides an inside look at life behind the scenes at your local newspaper.  This episode, a Reader Feature, is a conversation with Sentinel reader Keith Vogt.  Not a local resident, Keith reached out to the Sentinel to reconnect with his childhood memories of spending summe...

On July 31st of 2020, a lightning strike in a remote area north of Grand Junction, CO sparked what would later come to be called The Pine Gulch Fire. It would eventually blow up into the largest wildfire in Colorado history until The Cameron Peak fire on Colorado's Front Range exceeded it in October of the same year. Eric Coulter, Public Affairs Specialist for the Upper Colorado River District, an...

The 2nd installment of Crossing the Divide's Season 4 feature, The Daily Direct, introduces Daily Sentinel Managing Editor Dale Shrull. Dale takes you inside the newsroom, tracing the journey of a local news tip as it transforms into a full-fledged news story and discusses the challenge of properly vetting facts before publication in a culture where audiences are predisposed to on-demand informati...

Targeted Disinformation. Social Media. Section 230.  Just a few of the threats facing traditional print media outlets in the 21st century. Crossing the Divide takes you behind the scenes at a small town newspaper, The Daily Sentinel, with frank and open discussions about the difficulties and importance of keeping local journalism alive in an age of digital propaganda. The 1st edition of this new m...

Transpersonal Counseling. Alchemical Hypnotherapy. Astrology. Radical Living. Part reflection, part projection. You've Crossing the Divide via Astrologer Dulce Bell-Bulley. 

An in-depth discussion about climate change in the Western Slope region with former National Weather Service forecaster, Joe Ramey. Roughly a decade ago, as the Climate Liaison at the Grand Junction office, Joe undertook his own regional climate study to better understand potential changes in climate occurring here on the ground and to inform the local community of the impacts of global warming in...

8 months into the year 2020 a global pandemic of COVID-19 continues to rage here at home and around the world. The United States, struggling to adopt a coherent national plan to combat the disease, faces another rise in cases and surmounting death toll as we enter our yearly flu season with the potential for a twindemic that could cripple our health care system. Mesa County Public Health Epidemiol...

A conversation with best-selling author and Colorado Mesa University Assistant Professor of History, Timothy Winegard, whose latest book, The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator examines the dramatic impact of a pesky but seemingly unassuming creature on the course of human existence.  The release of this podcast coincides with the release of the book in paperback format.

In an effort to document the unique Zeitgeist of the COVID-19 pandemic, Crossing the Divide has created a limited video series, Life Under Lockdown, where we interview individuals, businesses and organizations impacted by a society in limbo while the battle against an insidious disease rages all around us. How has a life under lockdown altered our realities and how will it continue to shape human...

Audience members of the 2019 Grand Junction Film Festival Filmmaker Panel follow up with their own questions about how to succeed in the production world.

Your Oscar awaits! Crossing the Divide brings you exclusive access to the Filmmaker Panel hosted in October 2019 by the Grand Junction Film Festival. This discussion features professionals from the film and television industry sharing their personal journeys on the path to successful media careers along with predictions for what lies ahead for viewers and creatives in a world beholden to technolog...

Dinos and Dogma features Stephanie Lukowski, Curator of Education for Museums of Western Colorado. Stephanie details what drew her to study the strange world of prehistoric mammals and her eventual decision to pursue science education. She addresses the struggles encountered as an aspiring scientist raised in a devout religious family and explains how someone who loves the cold left the alpine win...

A discussion with Julia McHugh, Museum of the West's Curator of Palentology, about the importance of the Western Colorado region in shaping the future of paleontological study. In addition to providing an insider's perspective on this small but intriguing area of natural science, Julia reveals details of groundbreaking work in the study of Forgotten Fragments led by a local team of students and ex...